Book picks similar to
Laying Low in Paradise by Kristy K. James


romance
contemporary-romance
kristy-k-james
novella

Love's Providence


Jennifer H. Westall - 2012
    If not for Jackson Carter, her childhood best friend and the only boy she’s ever loved, she’s sure she would have run away years ago. But when Jackson loses his father and a future basketball career within months of each other, his faith is so shattered, he shuts out everyone, including Lily. After months of heartache, Lily begins to piece together a life without Jackson, and while vacationing at the beach on a beautiful island off the Georgia coast, she begins a long-distance romance with Alex Walker, a police officer with a quick wit and a cocky grin. He revives her hope in love again, but their intense attraction and his devastating secret test Lily’s commitment to save herself for marriage. Through her struggles to remain true to her principles, an agonizing choice between Alex and Jackson, and a series of terrifying events that threaten all of them, Lily must endure losing everything she’s been grasping so tightly. Only then will she discover the depth of the love that already surrounds her.

Love at Sunset Lake


Sally Bayless - 2018
    An artist who's withdrawn from the world. A property battle that just might heal them both.When struggling caterer Tess Palmer inherits her great-aunt's home at Sunset Lake, Missouri, she thinks she's found the way to save her business. Selling the property can provide just the infusion of capital she needs to pay off her debts and move to a larger commercial kitchen.Wildlife painter Jack Hamlin, who lives across Sunset Lake, wants the area kept exactly as it is--a place where waterfowl can thrive and where he can find peace and solitude to ease his troubled heart. Although he's drawn to Tess's honesty and beauty, he's appalled to learn she would welcome a deal with a developer, and he vows to stop her.As Tess discovers the reasons why Jack is so passionate about protecting the lake, she finds him more and more attractive. She takes a tentative step past her own emotional pain to risk her heart again. But there seems to be no solution to the impasse over the property. As a sale becomes imminent, can Jack and Tess trust God--and each other--and finally find a love that will last?

Find Me, Save Me


Barbara Gee - 2015
    In an effort to end their standoff and regain control of his lucrative criminal enterprises, Jimmy plots to abduct Tuck’s sister. He hopes to use her to get the tireless agent to finally back off. Although Tuck manages to keep Libby safe from his enemy’s clutches, her best friend pays the price. Now Maddy’s life depends on Tuck. Madison Harper has been fascinated by her friend’s older brother ever since seeing photos of him in Libby’s apartment and learning that he works as a federal agent. Given her close friendship with Libby, Maddy expects she will some day meet Tucker Simon. What she doesn't expect is to need him. When Maddy is accidentally drawn into the dark schemes of Jimmy Callahan, her chances of survival are slim. As she faces almost certain death at the hands of a man bent on revenge, she prays for Tuck to find her. But time is running out, and Jimmy isn't going to make it easy. It should have never come to this—Madison should not have been made to suffer at the hands of his enemy. As Tuck fights to rescue the most courageous woman he’s ever known and keep her safe from further harm, he’s also fighting his own sense of guilt. As she heals and his feelings for her become stronger, Tuck is forced to reevaluate the path of his life. He thought he had it all mapped out, but Madison Harper is changing everything. He can only trust that God will lead him where he is meant to go. He finds her—he saves her—dare he love her? Note: While this is a Christian themed book, the story is also intended to be as realistic as possible. The "bad guy" does swear at times. This is not meant to offend readers.

Time for Honesty


Mette Barfelt - 2017
    Despite her love for it and a yearning to return to a simpler life, she is confronted with the reality of a husband who hates the idea and a lack of available jobs.Her decision seems simple enough, except that Emmelin is carrying a burden from decisions she made when much younger and which are set to bubble to the surface once again.When her childhood sweetheart Dennis also decides to return to the town, following the death of his wife, Emmelin must finally be honest about what she did to him. Her secret threatens to open old wounds and increase his pain even further. But soon Emmelin discovers that Dennis has secrets of his own that could have changed both their lives.Tortured by remorse and indecisiveness, can Dennis overcome his anger and find a way to forgive Emmelin? And can she find a way to pave the path for them to trust each other again?Second chances don't come along every day. Can Emmelin and Dennis afford to let this one slip away? Time for Honesty is the first book in the Solvik series - contemporary small-town love stories with a dash of suspense. The books are stand-alone novels.

In Love by Christmas


Alexa Verde - 2018
    Let a book trip to Rios Azules, a small town in south Texas with quirky residents and caring community, bring you joy and put a smile on your face! Join three unlikely couples as they let God work miracles in their lives and find love, hope, and future together. Book 1 Season of Miracles  New Beginning or New Heartache?Nurse Lana Smith gives herself a gift for Christmas, a fresh start in a small town. After escaping a dead-end relationship with a celebrity, she avoids her patient's grandson, a pro football player. When Arturo gradually thaws her frozen heart, can her Christmas wish for family and affection come true?Football is Arturo De La Vega's life, but he returns to his hometown to help his ailing grandfather. Lana challenges Arturo to reach for stars of faith and love. Is Arturo's quest for glory worth crushing Lana's dreams and sacrificing his heart's true desire?Book 2 Season of JoySecond Chance or Second Heartbreak?Single dad Dylan McGregor wants to give his two sons the best life possible in the small town where he'd grown up. When his youngest son writes a letter to God asking for a Mom for Christmas, Dylan reluctantly starts dating again. His lifelong friend, Joy Avila, agrees to help him find the right woman. Then Dylan begins to see Joy in a new light and believes she's the right woman for him and his family.Overweight and teased in school, Joy never hoped her first crush, Dylan McGregor, would return her feelings. Confident and successful now, she's found her passion in writing about international travels. The trip of a lifetime awaits her after the holidays. Instead, will she find her dreams right there in Rios Azules?Book 3 Season of HopeKelly Young wants to heal after losing her husband and to raise her little girl the best she can in her hometown. But her new neighbor, former wide receiver Brandon Carmichael, seems to intend to demolish his fixer-upper and her hopes for peace and quiet. When he helps her to repair her home, keeps her flower shop business afloat, and makes her hope and love again, could it be that Brandon is exactly what she needs?After a forced retirement, Brandon Carmichael is angry and lost, one step away from the familiar path of self-destruction. Moving to a small town at his friend's suggestion, Brandon surprises himself by getting involved in its community and starting to fall for his pretty neighbor, single mom Kelly Young. But when his past collides with his present, can he forgive, love, and live fully again?These books were previously published as solos.

One Among Men


Connie Almony - 2014
    Only one will lead her to danger. Samantha Hart is looking for godly purpose, like her missionary best friend, but is forced to take a job as the resident director of the all-male party dorm at the major state university where her prodigal past haunts her. She must avert the pitfalls of a woman in her position as well as the dangerous forces that threaten her life. Chris Johnson, a rock guitarist, has come back to school as a music major, and finds himself in a business relationship with the ruthless supplier of an on-campus drug ring. He’s intrigued by the lady RD, while learning more about his musical gift and the God who gave it to him. Can he manage his two worlds without risking Samantha’s life? From the author of “At the Edge of a Dark Forest." Though this work is set at a completely FICTIONAL campus, "Maryland State University," ten percent of current author income from it will go to Campus Crusade for Christ (Cru) at University of Maryland College Park.

Fire and Ash


Anne Patrick - 2010
    Sadie loves her job and the challenges that come with it, but this case may turn out to be her toughest as she is forced to come to terms with the fire that destroyed her family when she was a little girl. Quinn Harrington is no stranger to grief. After losing his wife to cancer, his strong faith helped him through that dark valley. When he meets Sadie and learns about her past, he is determined to prove God still loves her. As they team up to solve the case, Quinn and Sadie must determine if the fire was accidental, an insurance scam gone horribly wrong, or something even more sinister. The answer may cost one of them their life.

Know You More


Jan Thompson - 2015
    When Heidi Wei becomes his strongest supporter in his church planting ministry, how does Diego show his interest in her without her getting the wrong idea? Does she see him as potential husband material or just the pastor of their church? Heidi has suspected that Diego is sweet on her, but he seems to believe that his divine calling prevents him from acting on it. If it isn’t meant to be, she’s not going to push for it. Yet every time they are together, something happens between them. Have they moved beyond the platonic relationship they have enjoyed the last nine years to something more personal? When a crisis hits Heidi’s family, Diego has to balance pastoring his congregation and ministering to Heidi without losing either one. Falling in love while planting a new church is difficult for him to juggle. Which path is more important to him? Which one should he focus on? KNOW YOU MORE is the first book in Jan Thompson’s SAVANNAH SWEETHEARTS series of contemporary Christian novellas celebrating faith, hope, and love.

What God Brings Together


Melissa Wardwell - 2014
    Just when she thinks she has found her path, a return to her hometown brings past hurts rushing back into her life. Can Emma learn to finally release the hardships of the past and rely on the goodness of God’s plans for her future? Eight years after a disfiguring accident, self-torment and life in the shadows keep David from all that he holds dear. When a chance encounter stirs him to hope again, he battles the voice inside that tells him he doesn’t deserve his second chance. Can he accept the gift of restoration God is offering him? Or will he allow self-doubt to rob him of his greatest love and the family he longs to embrace?

A Time to Love


Barbara Cameron - 2010
    But when she meets Matthew Bontrager, the man she had a crush on as a teenager, she wonders if God has a new plan for her. Jennie has emotional and physical scars and though she feels she has come home to this man and this place, she's not sure she can bridge the difference between their worlds.

Meg’s Best Man


Cynthia Bruner - 2014
    Includes questions for a mother/daughter book club.Meg Park’s plans to spend the weekend with her family and a good book fly out the camper window when she steps in as a backup bridesmaid at her cousin’s mountain wedding. She’s happy to be on the bride’s team, but groomsman Gage seems to think she needs him as her companion for more than just a short trip down the aisle. He’s tall, funny, and suspiciously Texan. He also has a knack for breaking things. Meg’s certain Gage is hiding something, but he doesn’t open up, even after he stumbles upon her own secret. Meg needs to fess up. And she needs to find out the truth about Gage so one of the things Gage breaks isn’t her heart.

Protecting His Best Friend's Sister


Samantha Chase - 2014
    It has since been expanded, revised, and re-edited.The only woman I want is the one I can never have.Harper. My best friend's sister. I've wanted her since I was eighteen, but she's always been off-limits. Now I'm home after years in the Marines, and nothing has changed--except everything has. Her brother is dead, and she's on a hopeless quest for answers about his death.And I want her just as much as ever.Someone is trying to kill her now, and she won't let me keep her safe. I have to protect her anyway, even if she doesn't trust me, even if she hates me for it. A man protects what's precious to him, whether or not he can ever claim her for his own.And Harper has always been precious to me.

Under Covers (City Girls #1)


Rhonda Bowen - 2015
    Her sister is missing. When her search for her sister sets her on a path into her past, she is forced to ask for help from the last person on earth she ever wished to see again - Garth Duhaney - a man she has both loved and hated for most of her life and whose power over her she has never been able to break.Jordan Lennox knows his wife-to-be is hiding things in her past. But his love for her keeps him believing that one day she will come clean. But when the secrets force him on a trip across the ocean only days before their wedding, he begins to question whether love is really enough.Will love keep them together or will it all fall apart when everything is uncovered?

Double Forté


Aaron Paul Lazar - 2004
    To deal with the loss, he plays endless Chopin etudes on his piano and lavishes love on his grandson and dog, but nothing lessens the pain. Life spirals out of control when Gus heads for the snow-covered hills on an early morning skiing excursion to find a mute child shackled to a bedpost in a cabin. Gus rescues the child but the kidnapper, Baxter, escapes into the woods to stew in hot revenge. Unexpectedly thrown together with Camille, a social worker who takes the child into her own home, Gus falls hard. The first woman who’s stirred his soul since his Elsbeth, Camille is polite enough toward him -- but her own dark secrets have her pulling away despite the mutual attraction. When Gus’s little grandson goes missing, he fears the worse. Does Baxter have the little boy? Does he want to trade for the mute child? Gus braces for the fight of his life, struggling to protect Camille and his family before time runs out.

A Tide Worth Turning


Beth Wiseman - 2015
    But following a stroke and a recent fall, Addison is forced to hire a caregiver for her estranged mother, Lee Ann; a job Addison chooses not to take on, despite her financial freedom to do so. She hires an agency to fill the position, and to her surprise, they send a man for the job. Logan has somehow managed to keep his act together despite a past that is slowly catching up with him. If he can make enough money over the next couple of months by tending to Lee Ann Burke, he should be able to flee the country before his world comes crashing down around him. But when Lee Ann’s beautiful daughter, Addison, begins to awaken feelings in him that he thought died long ago, he begins to question whether or not fleeing from the past is worth leaving Addison forever. Will Addison let down her guard for love and renew her relationship with her mother? Can Logan face his past, come out unscathed, and act on his feelings for Addison? And why is Lee Ann selling everything she owns on Ebay and Craig’s List?